New West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett, a recent transfer from Florida State, has more career starts (two) than Paul Millard and Ford Childress have between them (zero).

Trickett competed 62 percent of his passes for 947 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 games at Florida State. If Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen desires a quarterback who is comfortable reading defenses and who makes accurate throws, Trickett could have the inside track on the starting job this season.

“I don’t coach college football. I can’t tell you how complicated it is or isn’t. But I know Clint,” said Tim Cokely, who coached Trickett at North Florida Christian in Tallahassee, Fla., where he threw for more than 5,300 yards and 59 touchdowns. “He’s going to be able to rally those guys in the huddle. He’s going to understand where the ball needs to go, and he has the talent to get it there.”

Full Article at: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Darryl Talley, one of the hardest-hitting and most productive tacklers in West Virginia University football history, is now owner and operator of a successful business in Florida.

His company manufactures signs for use during construction work on national highways. There are three different outlets in the Sunshine State.

Talley, a native of East Cleveland, Ohio, earned letters as a linebacker here in 1979-80-81-82. He was credited with 484 tackles, then an all-time career school record.

Full Article at: The Register-Herald

There was no question when West Virginia’s spring game wrapped up that the quarterback battle had only just begun.

With no indication as to which of the two candidates – junior Paul Millard or redshirt freshman Ford Childress – had stepped up and proven to be the more reliable option, head coach Dana Holgorsen gave one major assessment of where the competition stood after weeks of practice had ended.

“Wide open, man,” he said on a conference call.

That was before he added a new name to the mix with the addition of Florida State transfer Clint Trickett. The former Seminole chose WVU over a few other interested schools in part because of his familiarity with Morgantown, but largely due to his interest in what Holgorsen and company have shown they can do with an offense.

Full Article at: WVi

More good stuff from FSH –

Football statistics are weird. This is one of those weird ones. I haven’t yet decided whether this I should call this one signal or noise, but I think it’s interesting enough to do a quick write up and get some others’ input on it.

There’s little question that TV has increased the the time that it takes to play a college football game. There hasn’t been, as far as I can find, any work done on determining whether this increase in game length has any impact on the outcomes on the field.

Looking at games between FBS teams from 2007-2012 (ignoring the one percent of games on the extremes), there appears to be a noticeably negative correlation between game length and home winning percentage.

Full Article at: Football Study Hall

Rookie minicamps are wrapping up throughout the National Football League on Sunday and some former West Virginia players are getting their final chance to make an impression.

Reports out of St. Louis and New York are largely positive with regards to WVU’s three Draft selections, as Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and Geno Smith each begin working to prove their worth to their respective teams.

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said in an interview following his team’s camp that he is anxious to get the ball in Austin’s hands as frequently as possible, an approach the Mountaineers’ staff utilized throughout his senior season. Bailey has also reportedly impressed with his ability to stretch out and make difficult catches both in traffic as well as down field.

Full Article at: WVi

Also from WVi:
TCU Wins Series over Mountaineers

Six multi-run innings hurt the WVU baseball team as it fell 16-6 to TCU on Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park.

The Horned Frogs (25-25, 10-11 Big 12) took the series win over the Mountaineers (30-22, 12-9 Big 12) after victories in the series final two games. The series loss is the first off the season at home in conference play.

Junior left fielder Jacob Rice went 3-for-4 at the plate for WVU, while sophomore second baseman Billy Fleming, junior third baseman Ryan Tuntland and senior right fielder Brady Wilson each had two hits, and junior first baseman Ryan McBroom drove in two runs.

Full Article at: WVi

Chris Henry was a fleet wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. During his five seasons with the team, he developed a reputation as a talented athlete on the field but a bad boy off it, even though those who knew him well say he was typically quiet and respectful.

On Dec. 16, 2009, Chris got into an argument with his fiancee, Loleini Tonga, in Charlotte, N.C. He jumped onto the open bed of a pickup truck she was driving, and a few minutes later, he either fell or jumped from the truck, landing on his head and suffering fatal brain injuries.

Fred McNeill played 12 seasons for the Minnesota Vikings in the ’70s and ’80s. After retiring, he finished law school and became a successful attorney in Minneapolis, helping to win major class-action lawsuits.

Full Article at: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

We learned Friday that Geno Smith is a harsh grader.

Asked to mark his first rookie minicamp practice with the New York Jets, Smith gave himself a big fat “F.”

After his second practice, Smith kept the red marker in his locker.

“I’ll leave the grading to the coaches, but I think today was another good day,” Smith told reporters Saturday in a transcript released by the Jets. “It got better again today, so that’s something that I just continue to do daily, I try to improve, even if it’s just in the smallest amount. I think I did that today.”

Full Article at: nfl.com